Curdling Milk & Cream
 

I had a friend who told me that her milk went bad really early even though it had a Jan 23 expiration date. I had a half gallon of Publix half & half that also went bad very early again with a Jan 23 expiration date. I replaced it with a half gallon of Winn Dixie half & half with a Jan 23 expiration date and it went bad!!! This has never happened to me before. What the heck is going on? Is anyone else experiencing this?

One guess is the refrigeration level wasn’t maintained while shipping or transported to your homes. Neither milk or half and half like room temperature very long and the flavor can change even after a short time.

That was my thought. We do not buy milk very often but last few times notice it went bad before expiry date

You may already know this, but that expiration date only applies to unopened cartons.

Once you open them they last a week. (I write the day of week on the carton)

That being said, I have experienced early spoilage with the Lactaid brand on three occasions. I don't buy that brand anymore.

Have you checked that your refrigerator is not failing? Bad milk is often an early indicator.

I’ve never seen a milk cartoon in a store with expiration date over 30 days maybe coffee creamer.

We use Trader Joe’s lactose free milk or fair life. Expiration date 6 plus weeks, and have never had an issue even after date. I agree with earlier poster check your fridge, usually bad milk or cream may mean temp is inconsistent

I buy my milk and half & half at the neighborhood Walmart and have had both milk and half & half go bad way before the expiration date. My refrigerator is kept on 40 degrees. Somewhere along the line during shipping something goes wrong.

We have started buying A2 milk and half & half and find they stay fresh much longer

Try storing milk on the inside shelves of the refrigerator. A constant cooler temperature is maintained there as compared to the shelves built into the doors. Almost all the cool air is lost around the door shelves every time the door is opened and closed.

Something is wrong with the circumstances of your post. Milk being sold today may have a late Dec expiration date, but I have never seen it with an expiration date of more than a month i.e. Jan 23.

The fact that that same date shows up on each of your half gallon containers of half and half would seem unlikely. Didn't know that you could even buy a half gallon of half and half. When you say went bad, it sounds like you had it for a while before that happened. The Jan 23 date 3 times seems unusual.

It used to happen to us all the time. Then we stopped putting the milk on the door compartment, and set it on the actual shelf at the bottom over the crisper.

Also, check that date - is it really an "expiration" date or does it say "best by" or "best before?" They mean different things. Best before and best buy don't mean that they're not drinkable after that date. They just mean that the freshness is optimal before that date.

Once it's opened, you have around 7 days to consume it before it starts to go sour, no matter when you purchased it or how much later that date says "best by/before."

The more fat in the product, the longer it'll last. Half-and-half will be consumable longer than skim milk. Heavy whipping cream will be consumable longer than half-and-half. Butter can actually last indefinitely, if refrigerated. Though the butterfat will separate and form a sort of fatty shell around the stick. It's still good, will still bake properly, and is still fine to put on your toast.

If you keep your house somewhat cool (78° or lower) you don't even have to put the stick of butter in the fridge. You can leave it in the butter dish on your counter.

Me, too! Publix 2% gallon-sized jugs. Spoiled within days of opening. This has happened several times. Milk is stored on the top shelf in the fridge.

no problem with milk bought at Aldi's....and much cheaper than Publix or Winn Dixie. I agree though, that a Jan 23 date is way to far in the future. maybe the date stamped should have been Dec 23?

The top shelf
 

The top shelf can be warmer than the lower shelves. My theory is heat rises so when you are opening and closing the refrigerator door, heat comes in. I use my top shelf to defrost food quicker and I put overflow fruit up there so it’s not as cold and lasts longer. If you get a refrigerator thermometer, you could check the various temperatures at each shelf level. It could also be used to see what your actual temperature is in the refrigerator. The temperature on the door does not mean that is the temperature inside the refrigerator. I put milk, alternative milks, and meats on the lowest shelf so they are colder.

Me too. Long expiration dates on A2 milk products with no issues.

We buy lactose free milk and the expiration date is way further out than regular milk, not sure why. We keep it on the glass shelves and have never had a problem.

sometimes the milk can set outside on pallets when delivered to store...light is the worse thing for milk

Milk is usually good beyond expiration date, I have milk now with expiration date Dec 11, today is Dec 20.
I will finish the gallon today.
My temp in refrigerator 38*
4 things that contribute to milk going bad before expiration date.
1 Exposure to outside temp.before loading on truck, rarely the problem.
2 Delivery truck temp in route,rarely a problem
3 Exposure to outside temp. When unloaded to dock at store, how long on dock before loaded in cooler.
4 After you remove from store cooler, continue shopping, take to car, load in Fla Temp car, take home, unload and get in refrigerator, CRITICAL TIME IN FLA.TEMP. Yes never place on door,always on shelf. Big volume stores, such as WALMART,WINDIXIE. PUBLEX are pros in handling milk, turnover in milk is high.
My experience as a retired supermarket supervisor , is as many threads wrote,
I would put my money on 1 of the 4 things I mentioned.
The number 1 thing to try, is placement of milk on shelf, LOWER TEMP TO 38*
If you are buying milk at 1 of the 3 places I listed.
YOU may be the problem.
As In all food items, dates on products are used for stores to monitor rotation by stockers. Dont throw away a product unopened or with an expiration date reached, 99% of the time it is good way beyond that date.
EXPIRATION 101

Check your refrigerator temperature

Buy A2
 

While more expensive, A2 products last 4-ever. I buy the 2% variety. Well worth the money and often on sale at Food Lion (in my home town). I often buy two cartons at a time and keep the back-up in garage fridge. An open container can last up to two weeks and It has NEVER (ever) gone bad. I typically get the store brand 1/2 & 1/2; no issues there either -- also buy duplicates, keeping backups in garage fridge. All products stored on middle glass shelf in both locations.

Check the temperature in your fridge to make sure it is keeping things cool enough.

40 degrees is at the high end. Mine is set at 37, and milk is stored bottom shelf in the back. Problem solved.

Same here. We keep our fridge at 37 degrees also. We don't use much milk, mainly 2% for cooking, in 2-quart plastic bottles. The only time it goes bad is if it has been there three weeks or so and that is with a lot of bottle openings and closings.

My GE profile refrigerator recommend temp is 37^. I keep it at 35^. No problems with milk spoiling.

Our house is set at 77. We keep our milk on the refrigerator door. It is 1% milk purchased at Walmart. Never had a problem. The 1/2 gallon we bought on Sunday has a date of 1/2/23. Our refrigerator is set at whatever the manufacturer recommended. I guess I should find out what that is, just to know.

A sell by date of late January seems too far out to me. Hope the problems are resolved soon for those that have them. Seems like a variety of factors are in play here

You are correct. Maybe mention this to the store manager. I have had this experience too. This is not usual for milk, 1/2 & 1/2 creamers, etc. Even if the refrigerated trailer's AC did turn off the insulated walls are capable of holding the tempeture for a period of time if the doors are not opened.

Check your refrigerator
 

QUOTE=BostonRich
It sounds like your refrigerator is not working well enough. Put a thermometer in it to see if the temperature is as low as it needs to be. Clean out the lower area where dust and dirt might be clogging the refrigerator fins.

I have only used Parmelat milk. It is stocked with powdered or condensed milk. Prior to opening it requires no refrigeration and can be stored in a pantry. It comes in both whole and low fat versions. Give it a try!

Put a thermometer in your fridge

The ideal refrigerator temperature is 37 per my manual.

The same thing happened to me with Publix milk dated December 23rd. Never happened to me before with Publix milk. Strange!

Many good responses to your Q. Here’s a few good links on the topic. The gist: store milk at 37 degrees, place in the back of fridge, transfer milk to glass containers or pitchers. We follow these suggestions. Makes a difference. 👍🏻😃

How to Store Dairy Products

How to Store Milk Safely (and For Long-Lasting Freshness)

How To Preserve Milk for a Long Time | Survival Junkies

I am so ugly I am not allowed to even look at a pint of milk for fear it will curdle, no matter how long the expiry date!

I believe the long expiration dates are on products that are ultra-pasteurized. They will supposedly last a lot longer than regular pasteurized dairy products. We buy our half and half from Costco. It comes in 1/2 gallons and it usually takes us 6 weeks to use it up and we never had a problem with it going bad. Our refrigerator is set to 36 and it is stored in the door.

Is your refrigerator on?

I used to have this problem when I had a Samsung refrigerator. I didn’t know it but the temp wasn’t maintaining the right temp and our milk kept going bad. We got a Whirlpool and never had the problem again.

add me to the list. several times i bought milk that went bad within days. i figured it was just the 1 Publix store near us, but after these posts it appears to be widespread

Yes. But the cow is really warm. 😒

oh, You~! :thumbup: